House Justice

A Joe DeMarco Thriller

By: Mike Lawson

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

When an American defense contractor goes to Iran to sell missile technology, the CIA knows all about it, thanks to a spy in Tehran. But when the story is leaked to an ambitious journalist, the spy is burned, brutally tortured, and executed. The director of the CIA isn’t about to let the callous sacrifice of his valuable spy go unpunished.

Joe DeMarco’s boss, Speaker of the House John Fitzpatrick Mahoney, has his own reasons to get to the bottom of the leak. He once had a fling with the journalist, and now that she’s in jail for refusing to reveal her source, she is threatening to tell all unless he helps get her out.

DeMarco and the CIA aren’t the only ones looking for the source of the leak, either. Someone else wants to avenge the spy’s death, and is tailing DeMarco, hoping he’ll lead him to his prey.

This latest Joe DeMarco thriller is classic Mike Lawson, featuring fascinating characters, inside-the-beltway intrigue, and a gripping plot packed with surprises.

©2010 Mike Lawson (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Engaging….The always present push and pull between the political machinations of alcoholic, egotistical Mahoney and DeMarco’s basic decency raises the ethical stakes.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Lawson has honed his skill to write a perfect political thriller—fast-moving, cynical, but ultimately moral.” ( Library Journal)

Remorseless

Yes Would you try another book from Mike Lawson and/or Joe Barrett.
This author is good when you run out of Brian Heig books read by Joe Barrett.
Audio sample was so intriguing, I had to buy. However, must like Russian thug story to enjoy this one. There is some humor, but I completely missed it as the subject matter made me so angry! The author wrote this story based on naive and absurd greed, which I failed to realize early on, so shame on me, I lost out on the humor. I have re listened and did get the humor the 2nd time.

Would you recommend House Justice to your friends? Why or why not?
Yes, if you want a sample of how evil Russian or Eastern European thugs can be. It made my skin crawl so much when injustice was showcased, that I missed the small nuances of humor. I needed to lighten up!
This is a good book If you enjoyed Elmore Leonard’s Get Shorty, and can envision the humor author intended.

What does Joe Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I just finished the Sean Drummond series by Brian Haig. Wonderful humor and wit. Excellent execution from reader, Joe.
Hence I purchased this book as a top reviewer said great. It was NOT for me!
Reader has good voice range for all characters, but I am not sure if the cadence of this story was my issue. It would make a good film.

Do you think House Justice needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
Since this is a series, I feel I should pick another story from this author as I like the Speaker of the House, John, character.
Frankly, from this book, I didn’t get the Joe character as the lead. He seemed to appear as just one of the many characters in this story.
I felt like I was hearing the story, not in it the story like Brian Haig’s series. It was unfair of me to listen to this series back to back with that one.
I’m going to try the story with SOH, John son or daughter to give this series a fair try. Ok so l have now purchased the entire series and have started re listening from book 3 to make better sense of this great series.


Any additional comments?
I do use the 1.25x speed to match author intent.

Were my comments helpful?

Riveting read

Mike Lawson is a superb writer and I love the narration by Joe Barrett.
I have read a few of these House books and they are all really good

Entertaining with many twists

Where does House Justice rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Wtthin the top ten of the books I have listened to. The book has a great plot and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

What did you like best about this story?

Joe Demarco

Which character – as performed by Joe Barrett – was your favorite?

All

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just a good overall thriller.

Any additional comments?

None

Good action thriller

What did you like best about House Justice? What did you like least?

The story line was good, but I got a bit confused at times. I couldn't keep all the characters straight - that's one of my problems with intricate books on audiotape. One thread in the storyline, however, tended to be quite humorous - not funny-ha-ha, but the puzzlement of it was amusing. That helped break up the seriousness of the story.

What did you like best about this story?

It was all action and I tend to prefer a lot of action. And the cerebral mystery of it.

What didn’t you like about Joe Barrett’s performance?

I didn't care for this narrator. His voice was too gruff for my tastes, so that when he tried to voice a woman, it came out kind of weird. He would have been better off to just 'read' it.

Do you think House Justice needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No; it stands well enough alone.

Don't waste your time or money!

This audiobook is terrible, the storyline is akin to a politically correct 'soap opera' very boring! The narration is unberably monotone and tiresome.

If I could give a book a negative rating this would be a negative 5!

Screwball main protagonist

This is the third book in the series that I have read. Overall they are entertaining. I don’t much like the main character who’s basically a screwball, a borderline alcoholic and loser and whiny to boot. In fact, all of the characters except for Emma, a retired spy, are fatally flawed one way or the other. A very cynical world view indeed.

Too political too sexist

Terrible read. Authors political leanings are distractions from the plot. Every female character is valued based on sex appeal.